This invention relates to a card connector for use in electric and electronic appliances such as personal computers, printers and the like, and more particularly to a card connector with a structure for preventing troubles caused by electro-static discharge (ESD).
There have been many kinds of cards as media for a wide variety of information. It has been a common practice to obtain or store various information from or onto a card inserted in a card connector which is connected to an information appliance.
In order to connect a card to a card connector, the card connector is provided with a fitting opening for inserting the card thereinto, and contacts having a contact portion are provided in the card connector so as to extend the contact portions into the fitting opening so that upon the card being inserted, said card is brought into contact with the contact portions of the contacts, thereby achieving continuity therebetween. As only a small portion of said card extends from said card connector, ejector means as disclosed in a Patent Literature described below has been provided in order to remove said card from said connector. Card connectors have been disclosed in the following Patent Literatures 1 and 2.
Patent Literature 1
According to the ABSTRACT of Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2000-58,197, the invention has an object to provide an IC card connector which has a reduced overall height and is simple in construction and which is able to be readily changed from standard mounting to reverse mounting and has a variable standoff state. An IC card connector having the following construction is disclosed. A frame portion 2 includes a pair of guide frames 3 made of a synthetic resin and a metal bridge 4 connecting one ends of the guide frames 3 so that the frame portion 2 is substantially U-shaped. Incorporated in the bridge are a lever 5 and a plate 6 which form part of an ejector mechanism for removing the IC card. An ejector button 8 is slidably mounted on one of the guide frames. When the ejector button 8 is slidably moved, the lever is rotated to cause the plate to be slid, thereby ejecting the IC card from the IC card connector. In order to prevent the IC card turned upside down from being inserted into the connector, one of the guide frames is formed with a thin polar key 3A, and the other guide frame is formed with a thick polar key, and both the guide frames are in symmetry except for the polar keys so that the guide frames on the left and right sides can be changed with each other.
In connection therewith, claim 1 of the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2000-58,197 recites an IC card connector comprising a frame portion including a pair of guide frames made of a synthetic resin and a metal bridge connecting one ends of said guide frames so that said frame portion is substantially U-shaped, a lever and a plate incorporated in said bridge as part of an ejector mechanism for ejecting the IC card from the connector, and an ejector button slidably mounted on one of said guide frames for causing said lever to rotate, thereby ejecting said IC card by a sliding movement of said plate caused by rotation of said lever. Claim 2 recites an IC card connector whose frame portion including a pair of guide frames made of a synthetic resin and a metal bridge connecting one ends of said guide frames so that said frame portion is substantially U-shaped, and the pair of guide frames made of the synthetic resin of said substantially U-shaped frame portion are each formed with a polar key on the side opposite from an opening portion, said polarities of the keys being different from each other, for preventing an IC card turned upside down from being inserted, while said pair of guide frames are configured in symmetry except for said polar keys so that said guide frames on the left and right sides can be changed with each other. Claim 3 recites an IC card connector whose frame portion including a pair of guide frames made of a synthetic resin and a metal bridge connecting one ends of said guide frames so that said frame portion is substantially U-shaped, and the pair of guide frames made of the synthetic resin of said substantially U-shaped frame portion each having an earth lug incorporated therein, said earth lugs having a hook pin integrally formed therewith for anchoring said earth lugs to a printed substrate. Claim 4 recites the IC card connector as set forth in claim 3 including said earth lugs each having a positioning portion as its integral part adapted to abut against said printed substrate, and heights of said hook pins and said positioning portions being variable.
Patent Literature 2
According to the ABSTRACT of Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2003-208,935, the invention has an object to provide a connector which is never bent or dislodged from a substrate upon impact. The connector comprises contacts 10, an insulator 20 for holding the contacts, and fixing members 30 fixed to a substrate for holding the insulator 20 mounted on said substrate 120, thereby enabling a connection object to be moved in a connection direction A so as to be connected to said contacts 10 and to be moved in a disconnection direction B so as to be disconnected from said contacts 10, wherein said fixing members 30 each comprise an abutment surface 30c extending from an opposite surface 20a of said insulator in said disconnection direction so that said abutment surface 30c abuts against the end face of said connection object on the side of said connection direction.
In connection therewith, claim 1 of the Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2003-208,935 recites a connector including electrically conductive contacts, an insulator for holding said contacts, and fixing members fixed to a substrate for holding said insulator mounted on said substrate, thereby enabling a connection object to be moved in a connection direction so as to be connected to said contacts and to be moved in a disconnection direction opposite to the connection direction so as to be disconnected from said contacts, wherein said fixing members each comprise an abutment surface facing to the end face of said connection object and extending from an opposite surface of said insulator in said disconnection direction so that said abutment surface abuts against the end face of said connection object on the side of said connection direction when said connection object is being moved in said connection direction to bring it into contact with said contacts. Claim 2 recites the connector as set forth in claim 1 including said fixing members each comprising a press-fitting portion in the form of a plate-shape adapted to be press-fitted into said insulator and a fixed portion in the form of a plate-shape adapted to be fixed to said substrate, said abutment surface being one in its thickness direction which extends across the plate surface of said fixing member.
Static electricity will be frequently accumulated in cards generally used. When a card with the stored static electricity is brought into contact with contacts of a connector, the stored static electricity is liable to cause short circuit and malfunctionings of the connector and peripheral equipment. In usual, therefore, a contact (terminal) is used as an approach to preventing the troubles caused by the stored static electricity so that before contacting between the card and said contacts, the card is brought into contact with the contact (terminal) for this approach to discharge the static electricity through the contact (terminal) to a frame ground (FG) or substrate as in the Patent Literatures described above.
With the configurations disclosed in the Patent Literatures, however, there have been many cases that the stored static electricity would discharge at clearances between the contact (terminal) for this approach and metal bridges (so-called secondary discharge), before it discharges from the contact (terminal) to the frame ground (FG) or a substrate. The secondary discharge leads to occurrence of noise which disturbs the signal line, resulting in malfunctioning of the card. This problem remains to be solved.